Key Differences
The core issue is the same one that separates AI-Redact from most general-purpose PDF editors: iLovePDF does not perform true redaction. Its editing tools let you place black rectangles, shapes, or other annotations over text — but the original content remains embedded in the PDF file. Anyone with a PDF editor can move or delete the annotation and read what was underneath.
AI-Redact takes a fundamentally different approach. When you redact a document, the sensitive text is permanently removed from the PDF's content stream. The characters are deleted, not covered. There is no hidden layer and no way to recover the original data.
Beyond the redaction method, AI-Redact automates the detection process using machine learning. Instead of scrolling through a document and manually placing boxes over every sensitive item, AI-Redact scans the entire document in seconds and flags PII automatically. This is especially important for longer documents where manual review is both slow and error-prone.
iLovePDF is significantly less expensive at $48/year for its Premium tier, but that price buys a general-purpose toolkit — not a redaction solution. The comparison is less about price and more about whether the tool actually does what you need it to do. For redaction specifically, annotation overlays are not a substitute for content removal.